Howdy- Updates

Hi there and hope you had a restful long weekend. We've been busy this weekend tracking Hurrican Gustav, having great political discussions, and celebrating my husband's birthday.

We've been watching Hurricane Gustav closely because we have family in both Florida and New Orleans. (N'awlins). Our niece and her husband live in New Orleans and evacuated last week. They are staying with family and are waiting to go back to the city. They went through Hurricane Katrina 3 years ago and needless to say, this is getting old. Really old and tiresome for them, especially since they bought their first home a couple years ago. Alex, our niece's husband, is an editor and writer for a music magazine based in New Orleans and just returned from Denver, Colorado where he covered the Democratic Convention. He is an incredibly gifted writer and has interviewed some fantastic musicians; B.B.King, Harry Connick Jr, The Neville Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, and on and on. We are also so thankful for Alex, not only does he make our niece happy and is a true friend, he took us to see Terrance Simien and The Lost Bayou Ramblers at the performance of the Grammy nominees for the Cajun Zydeco category last February. It was "off the hook". I am so lucky, I adore my DH's niece and her husband, (and not because of the free concerts and all that). We so wish they didn't have to go through this stress.

The Presidential elections have really caught the interest of our 13 y/o son. He had to watch the speeches at the Democratic convention and write an essay for history class. He is now downright passionate and has said how much he wished he could vote this election. I invited him into the voting booth with me while I vote and told him we could volunteer for his candidate. He seems to have a better grasp on issues than some grown ups, listing the qualifications of both VP candidates very concisely and thoughtfully.

We celebrated my beloved's birthday this weekend with a BBQ at the pool and home made chocolate malt cake. (It's delicious, especially the frosting which is made with whipping cream, chocolate, malt powder, and cream cheese. Only downside, the frosting melts quickly in the 90 degree heat, so you have to eat up quickly.) Sunday, we went to Zuma Beach in Malibu and hung out with another family. My husband took the boys to a Dodgers Baseball game yesterday. All in all, a Great Birthday Weekend! We aim to please, well at least the one day a year. ;oD

Well, it's back to work today, solving problems one patient and family at a time. I wish you a great rest of your day and thanks for checking in.